Why USA Will Never Win the World Cup (An Unscientific Study)

 So, it’s 5 days until the World Cup starts and I, for one, am extremely excited.  Maybe this will be the year England will win (or at least not get knocked out on penalties – we can all dream, can’t we?)

I’ve already got my viewing plans mapped out… mostly on my itty-bitty Iphone because during most of the games, I will be sitting at my desk at work.  [Boooo]  I would just like to say right now – Thank you WatchESPN for having an app that I can use and for actually showing the footie.  

All that being said, I’m not sure anyone in America actually knows the World Cup is coming.  I have yet to see any adverts on the telly and none of the shops are showing any interest at all in selling World Cup merchandise.  I took this photo recently in Target (probably one of the biggest chain of shops in the US).  This is their meagre attempt at getting behind Team USA…. Really Target, a couple of shirts, a couple of bags and a Brazil hat??  You do realize don't you there are other countries playing?

It just saddens me that the biggest event in the entire world of sport gets ignored or treated with apathy here.  Yes, the matches are being shown on the tv, but only if you subscribe to ESPN and I had to search for it to find out this information.

So, in the interests of science and world peace, I did a little survey.  Nothing fancy, but definitely a comprehensive study of a cross-section of Americans…. Okay, I sent an email to everyone at work.  I asked the following questions:

1. Do you know what the World Cup is?
2. Do you know when it starts?
3. Do you care?

And the official results are in.  Out of the hundreds of people I asked (well, 19) this is what I got…  and no, they weren’t all girls!

Do you know what the World Cup is?

Well, this was a good start, only one person said they didn’t know what it was.  Most people said “Yes” but they may have just been saying that so they didn’t look silly.  A few people actually got the sport right “Soccer” and one said “Brazil.”  Now don’t get me wrong, Brazil is a good attempt, it is where it’s being played after all, but Brazil is not actually THE World Cup, its the venue!!

Do you know when it starts?

Mostly the answer was “No,” but a few attempts ranging from June (very close), Spring and even August were put out there.  One person said “Yes,” but didn’t attempt to tell me when, so I think that was probably a sneaky “No.”

Do you care?

A pretty resounding “No” on this one… there were a couple of “Not really,” or “Only until US is out” and there was even a “Mehh”

So there it is… America does not care about the World Cup.  And this, my friends, is why the USA will never win.  Just think about it, you're out there putting all your heart into something and at the end of the day, nobody gives a monkey's - a little soul destroying really.  So why bother?

Yes, a long time ago, but at least we've done it once!!

We may all know England are going to begin well, have us on the edges of our seats and then go to penalties... as they do every . single . time . but there's always the possibility that once, just once, we might get it right and win the whole bloody thing.  It's what keeps us going as England fans - it's all about the uncertainty and the what if's and this is something America needs to understand.  Get behind your team, no matter what.  They are, after all, representing your country.  Although I will admit to having a little chuckle every time USA get knocked out!